FERC and CFTC sign MOUs on jurisdiction and information sharing

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have signed two memoranda of understanding (MOU) to address circumstances of overlapping jurisdiction and to share information in connection with market surveillance and investigations into potential market manipulation, fraud or abuse.

The MOUs allow the agencies to promote effective and efficient regulation to protect energy market competitors and consumers.

The jurisdiction MOU sets out a process under which the agencies will notify each other of activities that may involve overlapping jurisdiction and coordinate to address the agencies’ regulatory concerns. The new information sharing MOU establishes procedures through which the agencies will share information of mutual interest related to their respective market surveillance and investigative responsibilities, while maintaining confidentiality and data protection.

In support of the new information sharing MOU, CFTC chairman Gary Gensler and FERC acting chairman Cheryl LaFleur also agreed that the agencies will work together to share appropriate data relating to financial markets for gas and electricity on an ongoing basis.

“These memoranda will further strengthen FERC’s ability to perform its market oversight and enforcement responsibilities,” says LaFleur. “As FERC’s role in overseeing the competitive energy markets has grown since the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, our need to coordinate with the CFTC is increasingly important. I appreciate chairman Gensler’s work on these agreements and look forward to continued cooperation between our agencies.”

“I’m so pleased that with acting chairman LaFleur, our two agencies have been able to enter into these memoranda of understanding,” says Gensler. “These memoranda will help lead to better protection of the nation’s energy markets and increase cooperation between the agencies.”

Congress directed the CFTC and FERC to develop the MOUs as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The agencies have been operating under a 2005 MOU that allowed information exchange related to oversight or investigations.